Leaving Tennessee

6/22/2018 I departed the Great Smokey Mountains National Park this morning with the help of my neighbors. With lots of rain, the lack of sunshine and only one solar panel the batteries power was too low to retract the trailer slide out. With the Ford F-150 connected to the trailer and a campsite neighbor accelerating the engine revs, two other campsite neighbors pushing on the slide out and me activating the slide in button we got the slide out to slide in. Once on the way the remainder of the trip was uneventful. I found Sugar Hollow Park a large city owned park in Bristol, Virginia that was near everything but once inside the camping area it seemed to be in a wilderness area. With my head cold still hanging around I went to a pharmacy where I bought a cold remedy then rested the remainder of the day.

6/23/2018 With an intermittent rain and personally feeling under the weather I made it a stupid movie day. You guessed it; all I did was watch stupid movies all day.  

6/24/2018 Finally feeling better I did laundry and some shopping. I drove through downtown Bristol, I’m not sure which one, Bristol, Tennessee or Bristol, Virginia, according to Goggle maps they are 23 feet apart. Whichever one it was a nice older town that has the typical coffee houses, boutiques, and trendy bars that are filling in the spaces created when a town rejuvenates its downtown area. I then returned to the mobile residence to prepare it for tomorrow’s departure with reservations at the New River State Park in North Carolina. Once there, I will be meeting up in Lansing, North Carolina with Bob Schindler a former colleague from Sunnyvale, California. 

6/25/2018 I found the New River State Park which is near nowhere in North Carolina. This part of North Carolina lacks two things: straight roads and cellular service. After arrival and during the final stages of the travel trailer setup I noticed my site did not have a water supply, it had power service but no water supply. Believing that I would have water service at this State Park, I did not fill my fresh water tank before leaving Bristol. So, with my water tank near empty, I had to reattach the trailer to drive the 200 yards to the park water supply to fill my 40 gallon water tank. I then repeated the trailer setup process again, this time to completion. One odd thing about my campsite is that the table, grill and fire ring are behind my trailer. Most camp sites have everything set for the travel trailer door to open on the right side whereas this campsite is setup for a left door open which is very, very rare. I’ll live. This evening I drove 10 miles to Jefferson, North Carolina for cellular phone service which I used unsuccessfully then returned back to the New River State Park. Did I mention that this park is near nowhere in North Carolina?   

6/26/2018 Today’s agenda is to meet up with Bob Schindler. I was never able to contact Bob after yesterday’s departure from Bristol so I’m not sure when and where to meet he and his wife. I drove the 10 miles to Jefferson, North Carolina for cellular service and was finally able to contact my friend. I then drove to Bob and his wife Ellen’s house in Lansing. Their house is beautifully placed in the mountains and is nicely quiet on several acres. A preexisting well built home I believe Bob and Ellen will make modifications to their residence to improve it more to their liking. Later, Bob and I went to a brew house in West Jefferson for beers and dinner. I now sense why they like this part of North Carolina. 

6/27/2018 Started this morning with breakfast with Ellen and Bob Schindler at the Shatley Springs Resort restaurant. After saying our goodbyes I departed the New River State Park for the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Knowing before departure that I would not be able to make that destination I found and settled in the Pettigrew State Park near Creswell, North Carolina. This small tranquil park is on the second largest lake in North Carolina and I was its only camping guest. I positioned my trailer on a grassy site in a very warm humid environment that subsequently cooled off pleasantly.   

6/28/2018 After the hour drive from last night’s camp site I arrived on Cape Hattaeras National Seashore and settled on the north end at the Oregon Inlet Campground. Surprisingly, this US National Parks Service campground has power and water at 23 sites and I was able to procure one until at least July 1.

After positioning the trailer in the narrow but adequate camp site I walked east over the dunes to the beach area. The beach here is wide and very appealing which tomorrow I will get a pass to drive upon. 

6/29/2018 Midmorning I went to the Bodie Island Visitor Center and Lighthouse for an Off Road Permit but decided not to buy the $50 ten day 4X4 beach permit. Next I drove north to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina to the Wright Brothers National Memorial where the Wright Brothers successfully experimented with flight.From 1900 until their successful airplane flights on December 17, 1903 the Wright Brothers used this location because of its wind, sand and seclusion. It’s a great place to visit to review where the first flight took place. The area has changed over the years but the Parks Service has kept the setting and added to its significance and its history by adding boulders distinguishing each of the four flight distances.

Being from the Antelope Valley, with its flight history, makes this Wright Brothers National Memorial even more impressive. Later, I met my neighbors, Maid Ballai and his wife, who previously lived in Los Angeles but now live in Nashville. Maid was born, raise and educated in Sweden but is of Persian decent. Maid and I stayed up late discussing our different perspectives of world events with the discourse assistance of margaritas. 

6/30/2018 Stayed around camp all day relaxing. 

7/01/2018 I drove the 50 miles to the south end of Cape Hatteras to review the lifestyle and the historical areas. This island’s history includes the remains of the ironclad ship USS Monitor that rest on the ocean floor off this area where the ship sank while under tow in a storm on December 31, 1862. There are numerous shipwrecks along the coast here dating back to the 1800’s. Several decommissioned battleships were sunk off Cape Hatteras during testing of aerial bombing by General Billy Mitchell. Numerous other ships were sunk by German submarines during both World Wars and several ships were sunk off Cape Hatteras during the Civil War. Essentially, Cape Hatteras has a long interesting naval record dating back to the 1700’s with several museums detailing its history. 

7/02/2018 I went sightseeing around Nags Head and got a haircut. 

7/03/2018 The only reason I did this is because it was there. After a 90 minute drive south to the Ocracoke ferry; I waited almost three hours to board the ferry for a one hour ride to Ocracoke Island. I drove around the beautiful Ocracoke Island only to find not much there. I had an uninspiring lunch then headed back to the return ferry. Fortunately the wait was less than an hour for the one hour return ferry ride then another 90 minute drive back to my campsite. The only reason I did this is because it was there. 

7/04/2018 Happy 4^th of July to everyone. As I walked over to the campsite beach I crested the dune to what I thought would be a deserted beach was actually a very crowded beach. The US Parks Service has sold a lot of those 4X4 beach permits because the beach is lined with 4X4s with additional 4X4s driving up and down the beach consistently. I drove up on my biped (feet) and settled into a vacant area. It’s a nice beach with very warm water so I stayed for a couple of hours and left before a sunburn could deposit itself upon me.Afterwards, I drove, the truck, into town to purchase an ice chest for the local shrimp I bought on the way back to camp. Once back at the campsite I put the shrimp on the barbie and made grits for a great Southern dinner. This evening, I prepared to break camp as I am going to Virginia to visit my nephew Ralph that we call Rocky for short. He and his wife Emeley live in Charlottesville, Virginia so I’ll meander up that way in the morning.